The New Keyblade Master
by Pegasus Knight Florina
Summary: What would happen if Sora lost the final battle against Xemnas?
1. Chapter 1

The New Keyblade Master

A Kingdom Hearts fanfic

Riku cringed as he watched in horror; Xemnas had Sora, and he was ready to strike the final blow. The nobody laughed, an evil spark in his red eyes. "Look at yourself, Sora. The Keyblade master, the supposed savior of the worlds, at my mercy. It is truly a shame, though... I thought you would put up a better fight. Honestly, your little friend Kairi would have done better than this! Goodbye, Keyblade Master." With that, Xemnas drove his blade deep into Sora's chest.

"Sora!" Riku gasped, his white knuckles squeezing the life out of his keyblade. "Sora, no!" He rushed Xemnas, a foolhardy move, at best, the Way to Dawn at the ready. "Xemnas, you monster!"

But it was too late. With merely a laugh, he dropped Sora's limp form to the ground, watching in amusement as the boy's breathing slowed. "Riku, I am feeling generous today. I will allow you to bring your dear Sora back to the others... They deserve to know, don't you agree?" He chuckled coldly, though it was an empty laugh. "Goodbye, Riku. I'm sure we will meet another day." And he was gone, leaving Riku's agonizing screams of fury echoing through the empty abyss.

The white-haired youth ran over to his fallen comrade's limp form, crystal tears streaming down his face. "Sora... It wasn't supposed to end like this... Why? Why could'nt I save you? I couldn't do anything..." He screamed again, punching the ground with his fist. "Darn it, wake up Sora! You can't die? What about me? What about Kairi? What about Goofy and Donald? Sora, we can't do this without you! Come back, Sora! I Sora! SORA/I

"Calm down, fool. Didn't I tell you that you could leave?" Xemnas's voice rang through the battlefield as a portal opened beneath Riku. He looked down, recognising the view all too well; it was his homeland, the Destiny Islands, with Kairi and the others eagerly waiting for their return. "You... You heartless beast..." Riku whispered, his sorrow turned to anger.

"You are correct, sir," Xemnas said coldly, and then they were gone.

"Do you think they're alright?" Kairi asked worriedly, looking over at King Mickey. "They've been gone an awfully long time... I'm worried."

"Kairi, you've asked me that seven times now. They'll be fine. I'm sure of it!" the King said cheerfully, though even he wasn't so sure any more. So it was a partially-expected surprise when Riku dropped out of the sky, landing on top of Donald... Naturally.

"Hey! Get off of me, you... you..." For the first time ever, Donald was at a loss for words. "Riku." He said simply, staring in disbelief. It was true. Riku stood up, an unconsious Sora in his arms. It WOULD have been believable, if it had not been for Sora's pale alabaster skin and Riku's mortified expression. He shook his head, placing Sora on the ground near Kairi. "I'm sorry, Kairi... He's not waking up." He said simply, letting the tears come again. "Xemnas... That monster let me live... There was nothing I could do..."

"Sora?" Kairi whispered, placing a delicate hand to his ivory cheek, "Sora? Sora, wake up. The fight is over, you can wake up now. Wake up, Sora. Please..." She let out a sob, her long, red hair covering her face as she layed her head on his chest. "Sora... You can't... You can't..." She couldn't bring herself to say it, but she knew that if they didn't do something, then that was exactly what would happen.

"Kairi... Do you love him?"

"What?" Kairi blinked, she wasn't expecting that, especially from someone like King Mickey.

"Kairi, this is very important. So important that it could mean the difference between life and death for Sora. Now, would you be willing to save him, no matter what the cost?"

"Of... Of course..." Kairi stammered, "As long as he comes back... As long as he doesn't... Well, you know..."

"Kairi, this is no physical injury... Sora is not dying, nor is he alive. He just, well, he just is. His heart, his very will and being, has been shattered by Xemnas's darkness. He will not wake up; he will simply stay like this, unless we do something. You see, the only way to cure a shattered heart is by putting it with the presence of another heart. One that it is familiar with, one that has a piece of Sora's heart inside... Kairi, your heart was inside of Sora's. If we put his heart in yours, then it may heal..."

"Are you sure...?" Kairi asked softly, "So we can save him? But... You said, no matter what the cost... What would happen to me?"

"Nothing would happen to you, Kairi. It is what would happen to him. You see, it is impossible to repair a broken heart so that it is exactly how it was before. There's no telling what could happen to Sora if we do this..."

"I don't care!" She said, angry now, "You actually believe that I would be that vain? I love him, and I am not about to see things end this way! Now, let's do this!"

"Okay..." Mickey said uncertainly, summoning the presence of the Keyblade of Darkness. He solemnly pointed the tip at Sora's unmoving chest, releasing a simple beam of white light. Slowly but surely, several multicolored fragments flowed from Sora's form along the white path. The mouse moved his hand slightly, pointing it toward Kairi's chest. Sure enough, the shards began to move more quickly as they were absorbed into the red-haired girl's heart.

And so, life continued... Somewhat normally. Riku went to high school, becoming the star of the Varsity Blitzball team. Kairi got the female lead in the Drama Club's performance of "Romeo and Juliet". However, it was a very empty victory for Kairi since it wasn't Sora playing Romeo. Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey returned to Disney Castle to find an eagerly-waiting Queen Minnie and Daisy. However, the mood was quite solemn when the news of Sora's "death" was announced. A service was held and a memorial built to honor the hero.

Despite Kairi's seemingly normal behavior, it was obvious that she was grieving. Her skin lacked the usual pink luster, and her green eyes were cloudy and dull. She also told Riku of the "second presence" that she felt within her, but Riku just thought she was crazy. "Sora didn't know that your heart was in him," He would reply, "So you wouldn't know, either."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: A Day in The Life

"Sora..." Kairi muttered, the images flashing through her mind. A brown-haired man weilding a gun-like sword... A large clock tower, a boy dressed in green... Fish people, swimming in an endless ocean... Vast praries, a large rock casting a shadow on the green grass... A world inside a computer, filled with human-like computer programs... A deep canyon, filled with thousands of heartless... The final battle, Xemnas striking the finishing blow...

"SORA!" She screamed, her head snapping up. She looked around her dark bedroom, trying to regain her composure. "I know you're in there, Sora..." Kairi whispered to thin air, "And We're going to fix this, and everything will be back to normal..." Somewhere in the back of her mind, she could hear the echo of King Mickey's warning words. 'You see, it is impossible to repair a broken heart so that it is exactly how it was before. There's no telling what could happen to Sora if we do this...' The scene had plagued her ever since the events three months ago. "It can't be long now... Can it?" She sighed, drifting back to sleep.

"Kairi! Honey, are you awake? You're going to be late for school!"

"Yes, mom... I'm awake. I'll be right down!" Kairi called back sleepily, "Just need to get dressed!" She sighed, putting on the usual uniform yet again. "Every day it's the same... Oh, Sora, when will you come back...?" She asked herself, walking out the door.

"Hey, Kairi," Riku said simply, walking over to her at the lunch table. "You sure you're okay? You seem a little off."

"You've said that every day since the incident," Kairi replied flatly. "I told you, I'm fine. Just worried... I don't understand how you aren't. I mean, our best friend is basically dead. We haven't heard from the king in months, and we have no idea when this is going to be over with. And we have no idea if he'll even be Sora when he comes back."

"You don't need to worry about that," Riku laughed, "The only influence you could have on Sora would be a positive one. Hopefully he'll act a bit more sensible..."

"How can you say that?" Kairi asked angrily, "Riku, it's not just our friend that's at stake here. It's the entire universe! If Sora doesn't come back soon, Organization Thirteen is going to get back to Kingdom Hearts, and then what? Then it's all over, Riku!"

Riku scoffed. "Yeah, like that is what you're freaking out about, lover girl. You miss your boyfriend, and that's all there is to it. Now, how about you admit that and get on with your life?"

Kairi's pale face blushed beat red. "Shut up! You're embarassing me, Riku!"

He merely smiled. "Finally, some color out of you. It took me weeks to get you to blush, you know."

"That wasn't funny, Riku!" she said angrily, cooling down a bit. "Really, that was just mean, playing with my feelings like that!"

Riku laughed. "Oh, so you have feelings, now? You've been so emotionless lately that I could've gotten you mixed up with Namine."

"Riku, not now... You're really bugging me... Please, go away."

"No. Not until you get with the program, Kai. You're a zombie. Sora can't mean so much to you that you're willing to throw your life away for it."

"Riku, that's not fair! I'm in Romeo and Juliet, aren't I?"

"Only because I made you sign up."

"Oh, you're impossible!" Kairi walked off in a huff, leaving her lunch tray on the table.

Riku sighed, shaking his head. "She's really crazy about him..." He said to himself, "I guess it is hopeless for me, after all..."

"Sora... How much longer will it be?" Kairi sat on her bed, staring at a picture of the three together a few days before the Heartless invaded. "I've always been waiting... Waiting for you to finally return... Will the day never come, Sora? I don't know if I"ll be able to go on much longer..."

The boy opened his eyes for the first time in months. He shook his head, mildly suprised to discover the fact that he wasn't breathing. He shrugged shock away, deciding to concentrate on the more immediate issue... _Where am I? _ He said to himself, which was followed by a quick gasp. He hadn't even moved his lips, but the thought echoed around the dark clearing that he was in as if he was yelling into a deep cavern. _That's weird... Wait... Xemnas! Riku! Where... Where are they?_ The memories hit him like an oncoming train; his climb through the grueling levels of the World that Never Was, the many battles against Xemnas, and the final blow... He remembered that part particularly well. _I should be dead right now... Then again, maybe this is death. If so, than I've let everyone down..._ Suddenly, a loud voice rang through his head, as clear as a bell. "Sora..." The voice said, and he recognized it immediately. "Sora... How much longer?"

_Maybe I'm not dead, after all,_ Sora thought with relief, _But then where the heck am I?_

At around the same time, Kairi could hear Sora's voice ringin through her head. "Sora? Sora! It's you!" She squealed happily, literally jumping off of the bed with joy. "Sora! You're awake!"

_Kairi, where am I? And where are you? I can barely see anything..._ Suddenly, a knock on Kairi's bedroom window brought them both out of their reverie; a cloaked figure with large ears stood on the windowsill, beckoning for Kairi to approach.

"Sora! King Mickey's here!" She said gleefully, "You'll be back in no time!" Smiling to herself, she walked over to the shutters, unlatching them so that the mouse could get inside. "King Mickey, he's awake! He's finally awake!"

"I know, Kairi, I know... Why else would I be here?" He seemed to chuckle at this; yes, there was a smile on the King's face. "Now, lay on your bed so that I may perform the extraction. Again, his old body is gone, and we have no idea what will become of this new one, so don't get your hopes too high yet..." But it was quite obvious from the King's facial expression that he had done just that. "Now," He said, his voice reverted to a solemn tone as Kairi layed herself on her comfortable mattress, "Let's hope this works..." In a very similar fashion to the last time's events, The ray of light extended from the tip of the weapon once again, and Mickey maneuvered it with expert precison into Kairi's waiting chest. Slowly but surely, a fully intact heart followed the beam as the King directed it so that it hovered in the middle of the room.

Sora could feel a slight tingling as his body began to materialize, taking shape for the first time in about a month. However, he could tell that there was _definitely_ something wrong. The first thing he noticed was the silky brown hair that had dropped far below her shoulders, ending at the end of his shoulderblades. The next thing he realized was that he was very unbalanced, as if there were weights tied to his chest that were dragging him down. He gasped as he looked down, realizing that these 'weights' were actually a part of him. He brought his hands up to his new, thin waist, running them down his flared hips in disbelief. "This... What happened to me?"


End file.
